Best Scuba BCDs For Every Scuba Diving Style

Beginner’s Guide To Buying A Scuba BCD

Buying a new BCD can be daunting at first glance. There is a lot to consider when choosing the BCD that’s right for you. A few things you would want to consider are your budget, the style that works best for your type of diving, weight capacity, lift capacity, fit, and comfort.  

Types of BCD

There are basically 3 different styles of BCD. There is no right or wrong style.  The one you choose will depend on your level of diving and personal preference.

Jacket-Style BCD – This is the most common style of BCD. When inflated it wraps air around your waist, back, and shoulder. They are very stable on the surface of the water, making them a great choice for beginner divers. However, an improper fit can cause squeezing when overinflated. 

Back-Inflated BCDs – As the name implies. Only an air balder on the back is inflated, which frees up space in the front allowing the diver to move more freely when fully inflated. While they are great at keeping you horizontal underwater, on the surface it can be difficult to stay vertical when inflated. These are great for more advanced diving or those transitioning over to technical diving. 

Back Plate and Winged BCDs – These styles of BCD are generally preferred by technical divers but are now rising in popularity among recreational divers. They are modular allowing you to customize your BCD to the type of diving you will be doing. They are also able to accommodate multiple dive cylinders and allow you to choose an infinite combination between the back-plate and wing system.  

Other Style of BCDs

Sidemount – Evolving from cave diving, Sidemount diving has recently become popular. It allows you to carry your dive tanks on your side or under your arms. They are very popular with technical divers because it allows you to get into tight spaces. It’s also great for divers with a bad back because it shifts all the weight from the back to the sides.  

Women’s BCD – As more women because divers, manufactures are now designing BCDs that specifically contours to the female body.  These are generally smaller, lighter, and the shoulder straps tend to curve away from the chest or completely removed.  The overall length of the back is also reduced so the dive tank does not rest on the base of the spine. 

Travel BCD – For the intrepid explorer, these are lightweight and can be packed down small, however, they are not as durable as standard BCs as the material used is a lot lighter than the normal ones. The material is robust enough for regular use though, and it is super easy to pack. Just bear in mind that you won’t be able to carry lots of extra weights and most travel BCDs don’t have enough pockets or clips to carry much extra equipment, so if you are a diver who likes their accessories, then perhaps this is not a great choice for you!

Lift Capacity

Now that you’ve decided which style works best for your type of diving. You need to know if your BCD will have enough lift capacity to keep you floating on the surface while wearing all your dive gear. For recreational diving, most BCDs have enough lift capacity to keep you on the surface. However,  when you start to dive with multiple cylinders and extra tools for commercial or technical diving, you will require extra lift.

Fit and Comfort

A BCD should fit you like a comfortably–fitting coat; it should allow you to move freely without binding or slipping.

The ideal BCD fit includes:

• Snug, but not tight around your mid-section and arms/shoulders
• Straps should cinch across your body comfortably, but shouldn’t have slop or feel constrictive
• Hoses and valves should be easily accessible and within reach.

Integrated Weights

This allows you to take your dive weights in pouches and install them directly onto your BCD. This means you don’t have to wear a separate dive belt with weights strapped around your waist. Most integrated weight systems as designed to be easily dumped in case of an emergency. 

Trim Weight Pockets

These are generally located at the back of the BCD on either side of the cylinder. These allow you to move some weights away from the front and distribute them around the BCD to get a nice horizontal position underwater.

Pockets

You also want to make sure that your BCD has enough pockets for the dive that you will be doing. If you’re planning on doing most of your diving in tropical waters, one or two pockets will be okay to carry things like your Fish ID and sales. For diving in colder water or technical diving, you will probably want to carry more equipment that might not be able to fit in one or two pockets. That’s where D-Rings come in. 

Number of D-Rings

D-rings are used to attach and carry additional dive gear to your BCD, like SMBs and reel or spare mask. Basically, stuff that you cannot always fit in a tight pocket.  D-rings over your shoulders are often pre-bent outwards to make attaching clips much easier, while does near the waits normally are straight and lay flat against the BCD.